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Mehrgarh

Mehrgarh (Balochi: مہرگڑھ; Urdu: مہرگڑھ) is a Neolithic archaeological site (dated c. 7000 BCEc. 2500/2000 BCE) situated on the Kacchi Plain of Balochistan in Pakistan.[1] It is located near the Bolan Pass, to the west of the Indus River and between the modern-day Pakistani cities of Quetta, Kalat and Sibi. The site was discovered in 1974 by an archaeological team led by the French archaeologists Jean-François Jarrige and his wife, Catherine Jarrige. Mehrgarh was excavated continuously between 1974 and 1986, and again from 1997 to 2000. Archaeological material has been found in six mounds, and about 32,000 artifacts have been collected from the site. The earliest settlement at Mehrgarh—located in the northeast corner of the 495-acre (2.00 km2) site—was a small farming village dated between 7000 BCE and 5500 BCE.

Mehrgarh
مہرگڑھ
Ruins of houses at Mehrgarh, Balochistan
Mehrgahr
Location within the Pakistani province of Balochistan
Mehrgahr
Location within Pakistan
Alternative nameMehrgahr, Merhgarh, Merhgahr
LocationBalochistan, Pakistan
RegionSouth Asia
Coordinates29°23′N 67°37′E / 29.383°N 67.617°E / 29.383; 67.617Coordinates: 29°23′N 67°37′E / 29.383°N 67.617°E / 29.383; 67.617
History
Foundedc. 7000 BCE
Abandonedc. 2600 BCE
PeriodsNeolithic
Site notes
Excavation dates1974–1986, 1997–2000
ArchaeologistsJean-François Jarrige, Catherine Jarrige
Followed by: Early Harappan period

History

Mehrgarh is one of the earliest known sites that shows evidence of farming and herding in South Asia.[2][3][note 1] It was influenced by the Neolithic culture of the Near East,[13] with similarities between "domesticated wheat varieties, early phases of farming, pottery, other archaeological artefacts, some domesticated plants and herd animals."[14][note 2] According to Asko Parpola , the culture migrated into the Indus Valley and became the Indus Valley Civilization of the Bronze Age.[15]

Jean-Francois Jarrige argues for an independent origin of Mehrgarh. Jarrige notes "the assumption that farming economy was introduced full-fledged from Near-East to South Asia,"[16][note 2] and the similarities between Neolithic sites from eastern Mesopotamia and the western Indus Valley, which are evidence of a "cultural continuum" between those sites. However, given the originality of Mehrgarh, Jarrige concludes that Mehrgarh has an earlier local background," and is not a "'backwater' of the Neolithic culture of the Near East."[16]

 
Site location of Mehrgarh.

Lukacs and Hemphill suggest an initial local development of Mehrgarh, with continuity in cultural development but a population change.[32] According to Lukacs and Hemphill, while there is a strong continuity between the Neolithic and Chalcolithic cultures of Mehrgarh, dental evidence shows that the Chalcolithic population did not descend from the Neolithic population of Mehrgarh,[33] which "suggests moderate levels of gene flow."[33] They wrote that "the direct lineal descendants of the Neolithic inhabitants of Mehrgarh are to be found to the south and the east of Mehrgarh, Pakistan in northwestern India and the western edge of the Deccan Plateau," with Neolithic Mehrgarh showing greater affinity with Chalcolithic Inamgaon, south of Mehrgarh, than with Chalcolithic Mehrgarh. [33][note 3]

Gallego Romero et al. (2011) state that their research on lactose tolerance in India suggests that "the west Eurasian genetic contribution identified by Reich et al. (2009) principally reflects gene flow from Pakistan, Iran and the Middle East."[36] Gallego Romero notes that Indians who are lactose-tolerant show a genetic pattern regarding this tolerance which is "characteristic of the common European mutation."[37] According to Romero, this suggests that "the most common lactose tolerance mutation made a two-way migration out of the Middle East less than 10,000 years ago. While the mutation spread across Europe, another explorer must have brought the mutation eastward to India – likely traveling along the coast of the Persian Gulf where other pockets of the same mutation have been found."[37] They further note that "[t]he earliest evidence of cattle herding in south Asia comes from the Indus River Valley site of Mehrgarh and is dated to 7,000 YBP."[36][note 4]

Periods of occupation

Archaeologists divide the occupation at the site into eight periods.

Mehrgarh Period I (pre-7000 BCE–5500 BCE)

The Mehrgarh Period I (pre-7000 BCE – 5500 BCE)[note 5] was Neolithic and aceramic (without the use of pottery). The earliest farming in the area was developed by semi-nomadic people using plants such as wheat and barley and animals such as sheep, goats and cattle. The settlement was established with unbaked mud-brick buildings and most of them had four internal subdivisions. Numerous burials have been found, many with elaborate goods such as baskets, stone and bone tools, beads, bangles, pendants, and occasionally animal sacrifices, with more goods left with burials of males. Ornaments of sea shell, limestone, turquoise, lapis lazuli and sandstone have been found, along with simple figurines of women and animals. Seashells from far seashores, and lapis lazuli from as far away as present-day Badakshan, show good contact with those areas. One ground stone axe was discovered in a burial, and several more were obtained from the surface. These ground stone axes are the earliest to come from a stratified context in South Asia.

Periods I, II, and III are considered contemporaneous with another site called Kili Gul Mohammad.[40] The aceramic Neolithic phase in the region had originally been called the 'Kili Gul Muhammad phase'. While the Kili Gul Muhammad site, itself, probably started c. 5500 BC, the subsequent discoveries now allow to define the dates of 7000-5000 BC for this aceramic Neolithic phase.[41]

In 2001, archaeologists studying the remains of nine men from Mehrgarh discovered that the people of this civilization knew proto-dentistry. In April 2006, it was announced in the scientific journal Nature that the oldest (and first early Neolithic) evidence for the drilling of human teeth in vivo (i.e. in a living person) was found in Mehrgarh. According to the authors, their discoveries point to a tradition of proto-dentistry in the early farming cultures of that region. "Here we describe eleven drilled molar crowns from nine adults discovered in a Neolithic graveyard in Pakistan that dates from 7,500 to 9,000 years ago. These findings provide evidence for a long tradition of a type of proto-dentistry in early farming culture."[42]

Mehrgarh Period II (5500 BCE–4800 BCE) and Period III (4800 BCE–3500 BCE)

The Mehrgarh Period II (5500 BCE4800 BCE) and Merhgarh Period III (4800 BCE3500 BCE) were ceramic Neolithic, using pottery, and later chalcolithic. Period II is at site MR4 and Period III is at MR2.[43] Much evidence of manufacturing activity has been found and more advanced techniques were used. Glazed faience beads were produced and terracotta figurines became more detailed. Figurines of females were decorated with paint and had diverse hairstyles and ornaments. Two flexed burials were found in Period II with a red ochre cover on the body. The number of burial goods decreased over time, becoming limited to ornaments and with more goods left with burials of females. The first button seals were produced from terracotta and bone and had geometric designs. Technologies included stone and copper drills, updraft kilns, large pit kilns, and copper melting crucibles. There is further evidence of long-distance trade in Period II: important as an indication of this is the discovery of several beads of lapis lazuli, once again from Badakshan. Mehrgarh Periods II and III are also contemporaneous with an expansion of the settled populations of the borderlands at the western edge of South Asia, including the establishment of settlements like Rana Ghundai, Sheri Khan Tarakai, Sarai Kala, Jalilpur, and Ghaligai.[43]

Period III was not much explored, but it was found that Togau phase (c. 4000-3500 BCE) was part of this level, covering around 100 hectares in the areas MR.2, MR.4, MR.5 and MR.6, encompassing ruins, burial and dumping grounds, but archaeologist Jean-François Jarrige concluded that "such wide extension was not due to contemporaneous occupation, but rather due to the shift and partial superimposition in time of several villages or settlement clusters across a span of several centuries."[44]

Togau phase

At the beginning of Mehrgarh III, Togau ceramics appeared at the site. Togau ware was first defined by Beatrice de Cardi in 1948. Togau is a large mound in the Chhappar Valley of Sarawan, 12 kilometer northwest of Kalat in Baluchistan. This type of pottery is found widely in Baluchistan and eastern Afghanistan, at sites such as Mundigak, Sheri Khan Tarakai, and Periano Ghundai. According to Possehl it is attested at 84 sites up to date. Anjira is a contemporary ancient site near Togau.[45]

Togau ceramics is decorated with geometric designs and was already made by using a potter's wheel.

The time in Mehrgarh Period III, during the second half of the 4th millennium BCE, is characterized by important new developments. There's a big increase in the number of settlements in the Quetta Valley, the Surab Region, the Kachhi Plain and elsewhere in the area. Kili Ghul Mohammad (II−III) pottery is similar to Togau Ware.[46]

Mehrgarh Periods IV, V and VI (3500 BCE–3000 BCE)

Period IV was 3500 to 3250 BCE. Period V from 3250 to 3000 BCE and period VI was around 3000 BCE.[47] The site containing Periods IV to VII is designated as MR1.[43]

Mehrgarh Period VII (2600 BCE–2000 BCE)

Somewhere between 2600 BCE and 2000 BCE, the city seems to have been largely abandoned in favor of the larger and fortified town Nausharo five miles away when the Indus Valley civilisation was in its middle stages of development. Historian Michael Wood suggests this took place around 2500 BCE.[48]

Archaeologist Massimo Vidale considers a series of semi-columns found in a structure at Mehrgarh, dated around 2500 BCE by the French mission there, is very similar to semi-columns found in Period IV at Shahr-i Sokhta.[49]: min.12:10 

Mehrgarh Period VIII

The last period is found at the Sibri cemetery, about 8 kilometers from Mehrgarh.[43]

Lifestyle and technology

Early Mehrgarh residents lived in mud brick houses, stored their grain in granaries, fashioned tools with local copper ore, and lined their large basket containers with bitumen. They cultivated six-row barley, einkorn and emmer wheat, jujubes and dates, and herded sheep, goats and cattle. Residents of the later period (5500 BCE to 2600 BCE) put much effort into crafts, including flint knapping, tanning, bead production, and metal working.[50] Mehrgarh is probably the earliest known center of agriculture in South Asia.[51]

The oldest known example of the lost-wax technique comes from a 6,000-year-old wheel-shaped copper amulet found at Mehrgarh. The amulet was made from unalloyed copper, an unusual innovation that was later abandoned.[52]

Artifacts

 
Seated Mother Goddess ,3000–2500 BC. Mehrgarh.[53]

Human figurines

The oldest ceramic figurines in South Asia were found at Mehrgarh. They occur in all phases of the settlement and were prevalent even before pottery appears. The earliest figurines are quite simple and do not show intricate features. However, they grow in sophistication with time, and by 4000  BC begins to show their characteristic hairstyles and typical prominent breasts. All the figurines up to this period were female. Male figurines appear only from period VII and gradually become more numerous. Many of the female figurines are holding babies, and were interpreted as depictions of the "mother goddess". However, due to some difficulties in conclusively identifying these figurines with the "mother goddess", some scholars prefer using the term "female figurines with likely cultic significance".[54][55][56]

Pottery

 
Mehrgarh painted pottery. 3000-2500 BC.[57]

Evidence of pottery begins from Period II. In period III, the finds become much more abundant as the potter's wheel is introduced, and they show more intricate designs and also animal motifs.[43] The characteristic female figurines appear beginning in Period IV and the finds show more intricate designs and sophistication. Pipal leaf designs are used in decoration from Period VI.[58] Some sophisticated firing techniques were used from Periods VI and VII and an area reserved for the pottery industry has been found at mound MR1. However, by Period VIII, the quality and intricacy of designs seem to have suffered due to mass production, and a growing interest in bronze and copper vessels.[47]

Burials

There are two types of burials in the Mehrgarh site. There were individual burials where a single individual was enclosed in narrow mud walls and collective burials with thin mud-brick walls within which skeletons of six different individuals were discovered. The bodies in the collective burials were kept in a flexed position and were laid east to west. Child bones were found in large jars or urn burials (4000~3300 BCE).[59]

Metallurgy

Metal finds have dated as early as Period IIB, with a few copper items.[43][58]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Excavations at Bhirrana, Haryana, in India between 2006 and 2009, by archaeologist K. N. Dikshit, provided six artefacts, including "relatively advanced pottery," so-called Hakra ware, which were dated at a time bracket between 7380 and 6201 BCE.[4][5][6][7] These dates compete with Mehrgarh for being the oldest site for cultural remains in the area.[8]

    Yet, Dikshit and Mani clarify that this time-bracket concerns only charcoal samples, which were radio-carbon dated at respectively 7570–7180 BCE (sample 2481) and 6689–6201 BCE (sample 2333).[9][10] Dikshit further writes that the earliest phase concerns 14 shallow dwelling-pits which "could accommodate about 3–4 people."[11] According to Dikshit, in the lowest level of these pits wheel-made Hakra Ware was found which was "not well finished,"[11] together with other wares.[12]
  2. ^ a b According to Gangal et al. (2014), there is strong archeological and geographical evidence that neolithic farming spread from the Near East into north-west India.[13][17] Gangal et al. (2014):[13] "There are several lines of evidence that support the idea of a connection between the Neolithic in the Near East and the subcontinent. The prehistoric site of Mehrgarh in Baluchistan (modern Pakistan) is the earliest Neolithic site in the northwest of the subcontinent, dated as early as 8500 BCE.[18][18]

    Neolithic domesticated crops in Mehrgarh include more than 90% barley and a small amount of wheat. There is good evidence for the local domestication of barley and the zebu cattle at Mehrgarh [19],[19] [20],[20] but the wheat varieties are suggested to be of Near-Eastern origin, as the modern distribution of wild varieties of wheat is limited to Northern Levant and Southern Turkey [21].[21] A detailed satellite map study of a few archaeological sites in the Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa regions also suggests similarities in early phases of farming with sites in Western Asia [22].[22] Pottery prepared by sequential slab construction, circular fire pits filled with burnt pebbles, and large granaries are common to both Mehrgarh and many Mesopotamian sites [23].[23] The postures of the skeletal remains in graves at Mehrgarh bear strong resemblance to those at Ali Kosh in the Zagros Mountains of southern Iran [19].[19] Clay figurines found in Mehrgarh resemble those discovered at Teppe Zagheh on the Qazvin plain south of the Elburz range in Iran (the 7th millennium BCE) and Jeitun in Turkmenistan (the 6th millennium BCE) [24].[24] Strong arguments have been made for the Near-Eastern origin of some domesticated plants and herd animals at Jeitun in Turkmenistan (pp. 225–227 in [25]).[25]

    The Near East is separated from the Indus Valley by the arid plateaus, ridges, and deserts of Iran and Afghanistan, where rainfall agriculture is possible only in the foothills and cul-de-sac valleys [26].[26] Nevertheless, this area was not an insurmountable obstacle for the dispersal of the Neolithic. The route south of the Caspian sea is a part of the Silk Road, some sections of which were in use from at least 3,000 BCE, connecting Badakhshan (north-eastern Afghanistan and south-eastern Tajikistan) with Western Asia, Egypt, and India [27].[27] Similarly, the section from Badakhshan to the Mesopotamian plains (the Great Khorasan Road) was apparently functioning by 4,000 BCE, and numerous prehistoric sites are located along with it, whose assemblages are dominated by the Cheshmeh-Ali (Tehran Plain) ceramic technology, forms and designs [26].[26] Striking similarities in figurines and pottery styles, and mud-brick shapes, between widely separated early Neolithic sites in the Zagros Mountains of north-western Iran (Jarmo and Sarab), the Deh Luran Plain in southwestern Iran (Tappeh Ali Kosh and Chogha Sefid), Susiana (Chogha Bonus and Chogha Mish), the Iranian Central Plateau (Tappeh-Sang-e Chakhmaq), and Turkmenistan (Jeitun) suggest a common incipient culture [28].[28] The Neolithic dispersal across South Asia plausibly involved migration of the population ([29][29] and [25], pp. 231–233).[25] This possibility is also supported by Y-chromosome and mtDNA analyses [30],[30] [31]."[31]
  3. ^ Genetic research shows a complex pattern of human migrations.[17] Kivisild et al. (1999) note that "a small fraction of the West Eurasian mtDNA lineages found in Indian populations can be ascribed to a relatively recent admixture."[34] at ca. 9,300 ± 3,000 years before present,[35] which coincides with "the arrival to India of cereals domesticated in the Fertile Crescent" and "lends credence to the suggested linguistic connection between the Elamite and Dravidic populations."[35] Singh et al. (2016) investigated the distribution of J2a-M410 and J2b-M102 in South Asia, which "suggested a complex scenario that cannot be explained by a single wave of agricultural expansion from Near East to South Asia,"[17] but also notes that "regardless of the complexity of dispersal, NW region appears to be the corridor for entry of these haplogroups into India."[17]
  4. ^ Gallego Romero et al. (2011) refer to (Meadow 1993):[36] Meadow RH. 1993. Animal domestication in the Middle East: a revised view from the eastern margin. In: Possehl G, editor. Harappan civilization. New Delhi (India): Oxford University Press and India Book House. p 295–320.[38]
  5. ^ Jarrige: "Though it is difficult to date precisely the beginning of Period I, it can be rather securely assessed that the first occupation of Mehrgarh has to be put in a context probably earlier than 7000 BC."[39]

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Further reading

Mehrgarh
  • Jarrige, J. F. (1979). "Excavations at Mehrgarh-Pakistan". In Johanna Engelberta Lohuizen-De Leeuw (ed.). South Asian archaeology 1975: papers from the third International Conference of the Association of South Asian Archaeologists in Western Europe, held in Paris. Brill. pp. 76–. ISBN 978-90-04-05996-2. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  • Jarrige, Jean-Franois, Mehrgarh Neolithic 20 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  • Jarrige, C, J. F. Jarrige, R. H. Meadow, G. Quivron, eds (1995/6), Mehrgarh Field Reports 1974-85: From Neolithic times to the Indus Civilization.
  • Jarrige J. F., Lechevallier M., Les fouilles de Mehrgarh, Pakistan : problèmes chronologiques [Excavations at Mehrgarh, Pakistan: chronological problems] (French).
  • Lechevallier M., L'Industrie lithique de Mehrgarh (Pakistan) [The Lithic industry of Mehrgarh (Pakistan)] (French)
  • Niharranjan Ray; Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya (1 January 2000). "Pre-Harappan Neolithic-Chalcolithic Settlement at Mehrgarh, Baluchistan Pakistan". A sourcebook of Indian civilization. Orient Blackswan. pp. 560–. ISBN 978-81-250-1871-1. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  • Santoni, Marielle, Sabri and the South Cemetery of Mehrgarh: Third Millennium Connections between the Northern Kachi Plain (Pakistan) and Central Asia
  • Lukacs, J. R., Dental Morphology and Odontometrics of Early Agriculturalists from Neolithic Mehrgarh, Pakistan
  • Barthelemy De Saizieu B., Le Cimetière néolithique de Mehrgarh (Balouchistan pakistanais) : apport de l'analyse factorielle [The Neolithic cemetery of Mehrgarh (Balochistan Pakistan): Contribution of a factor analysis] (French).
Indus Valley Civilization
  • Gregory L. Possehl (2002). The Indus civilization: a contemporary perspective. Rowman Altamira. ISBN 978-0-7591-0172-2. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  • Jane McIntosh (2008). The ancient Indus Valley: new perspectives. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-57607-907-2. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  • Kenoyer, Jonathan M.; Miller, Heather M. L. (1999). "Metal Technologies of the Indus Valley Tradition in Pakistan and Western India". In Vincent C. Pigott (ed.). The archaeometallurgy of the Asian old world. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology. pp. 123–. ISBN 978-0-924171-34-5. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
South Asia
  • Bridget Allchin; Frank Raymond Allchin (1982). The rise of civilization in India and Pakistan. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-28550-6. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  • Kenoyer, J. Mark (2005). Kimberly Heuston (ed.). The Ancient South Asian World. Oxford University Press. pp. 30–35. ISBN 978-0-19-517422-9. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  • Sinopoli, Carla M. (February 2007). "Gender and Archaeology in South and Southwest Asia". In Sarah M. Nelson (ed.). Worlds of gender: the archaeology of women's lives around the globe. Rowman Altamira. pp. 75–. ISBN 978-0-7591-1084-7. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
  • Kenoyer, Jonathan Mark (2002). Peter N. Peregrine, Melvin Ember (ed.). Encyclopedia of Prehistory: South and Southwest Asia. Springer. pp. 153–. ISBN 978-0-306-46262-7. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
South Asia paleoanthropology
  • Kenneth A. R. Kennedy (2000). God-apes and fossil men: paleoanthropology of South Asia. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0-472-11013-1. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
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Central Asia
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Global history
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India
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Indo-Aryans
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External links

mehrgarh, balochi, مہرگڑھ, urdu, مہرگڑھ, neolithic, archaeological, site, dated, 7000, 2500, 2000, situated, kacchi, plain, balochistan, pakistan, located, near, bolan, pass, west, indus, river, between, modern, pakistani, cities, quetta, kalat, sibi, site, di. Mehrgarh Balochi مہرگڑھ Urdu مہرگڑھ is a Neolithic archaeological site dated c 7000 BCE c 2500 2000 BCE situated on the Kacchi Plain of Balochistan in Pakistan 1 It is located near the Bolan Pass to the west of the Indus River and between the modern day Pakistani cities of Quetta Kalat and Sibi The site was discovered in 1974 by an archaeological team led by the French archaeologists Jean Francois Jarrige and his wife Catherine Jarrige Mehrgarh was excavated continuously between 1974 and 1986 and again from 1997 to 2000 Archaeological material has been found in six mounds and about 32 000 artifacts have been collected from the site The earliest settlement at Mehrgarh located in the northeast corner of the 495 acre 2 00 km2 site was a small farming village dated between 7000 BCE and 5500 BCE MehrgarhمہرگڑھRuins of houses at Mehrgarh BalochistanMehrgahrLocation within the Pakistani province of BalochistanShow map of Balochistan PakistanMehrgahrLocation within PakistanShow map of PakistanAlternative nameMehrgahr Merhgarh MerhgahrLocationBalochistan PakistanRegionSouth AsiaCoordinates29 23 N 67 37 E 29 383 N 67 617 E 29 383 67 617 Coordinates 29 23 N 67 37 E 29 383 N 67 617 E 29 383 67 617HistoryFoundedc 7000 BCEAbandonedc 2600 BCEPeriodsNeolithicSite notesExcavation dates1974 1986 1997 2000ArchaeologistsJean Francois Jarrige Catherine JarrigeFollowed by Early Harappan period Contents 1 History 2 Periods of occupation 2 1 Mehrgarh Period I pre 7000 BCE 5500 BCE 2 2 Mehrgarh Period II 5500 BCE 4800 BCE and Period III 4800 BCE 3500 BCE 2 2 1 Togau phase 2 3 Mehrgarh Periods IV V and VI 3500 BCE 3000 BCE 2 4 Mehrgarh Period VII 2600 BCE 2000 BCE 2 5 Mehrgarh Period VIII 3 Lifestyle and technology 4 Artifacts 4 1 Human figurines 4 2 Pottery 4 3 Burials 4 4 Metallurgy 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 Sources 9 Further reading 10 External linksHistory EditSee also Neolithic Revolution Fertile Crescent Demic diffusion and Dravidian peoples Origins Mehrgarh is one of the earliest known sites that shows evidence of farming and herding in South Asia 2 3 note 1 It was influenced by the Neolithic culture of the Near East 13 with similarities between domesticated wheat varieties early phases of farming pottery other archaeological artefacts some domesticated plants and herd animals 14 note 2 According to Asko Parpola the culture migrated into the Indus Valley and became the Indus Valley Civilization of the Bronze Age 15 Jean Francois Jarrige argues for an independent origin of Mehrgarh Jarrige notes the assumption that farming economy was introduced full fledged from Near East to South Asia 16 note 2 and the similarities between Neolithic sites from eastern Mesopotamia and the western Indus Valley which are evidence of a cultural continuum between those sites However given the originality of Mehrgarh Jarrige concludes that Mehrgarh has an earlier local background and is not a backwater of the Neolithic culture of the Near East 16 Site location of Mehrgarh Lukacs and Hemphill suggest an initial local development of Mehrgarh with continuity in cultural development but a population change 32 According to Lukacs and Hemphill while there is a strong continuity between the Neolithic and Chalcolithic cultures of Mehrgarh dental evidence shows that the Chalcolithic population did not descend from the Neolithic population of Mehrgarh 33 which suggests moderate levels of gene flow 33 They wrote that the direct lineal descendants of the Neolithic inhabitants of Mehrgarh are to be found to the south and the east of Mehrgarh Pakistan in northwestern India and the western edge of the Deccan Plateau with Neolithic Mehrgarh showing greater affinity with Chalcolithic Inamgaon south of Mehrgarh than with Chalcolithic Mehrgarh 33 note 3 Gallego Romero et al 2011 state that their research on lactose tolerance in India suggests that the west Eurasian genetic contribution identified by Reich et al 2009 principally reflects gene flow from Pakistan Iran and the Middle East 36 Gallego Romero notes that Indians who are lactose tolerant show a genetic pattern regarding this tolerance which is characteristic of the common European mutation 37 According to Romero this suggests that the most common lactose tolerance mutation made a two way migration out of the Middle East less than 10 000 years ago While the mutation spread across Europe another explorer must have brought the mutation eastward to India likely traveling along the coast of the Persian Gulf where other pockets of the same mutation have been found 37 They further note that t he earliest evidence of cattle herding in south Asia comes from the Indus River Valley site of Mehrgarh and is dated to 7 000 YBP 36 note 4 Periods of occupation EditArchaeologists divide the occupation at the site into eight periods Mehrgarh Period I pre 7000 BCE 5500 BCE Edit The Mehrgarh Period I pre 7000 BCE 5500 BCE note 5 was Neolithic and aceramic without the use of pottery The earliest farming in the area was developed by semi nomadic people using plants such as wheat and barley and animals such as sheep goats and cattle The settlement was established with unbaked mud brick buildings and most of them had four internal subdivisions Numerous burials have been found many with elaborate goods such as baskets stone and bone tools beads bangles pendants and occasionally animal sacrifices with more goods left with burials of males Ornaments of sea shell limestone turquoise lapis lazuli and sandstone have been found along with simple figurines of women and animals Seashells from far seashores and lapis lazuli from as far away as present day Badakshan show good contact with those areas One ground stone axe was discovered in a burial and several more were obtained from the surface These ground stone axes are the earliest to come from a stratified context in South Asia Periods I II and III are considered contemporaneous with another site called Kili Gul Mohammad 40 The aceramic Neolithic phase in the region had originally been called the Kili Gul Muhammad phase While the Kili Gul Muhammad site itself probably started c 5500 BC the subsequent discoveries now allow to define the dates of 7000 5000 BC for this aceramic Neolithic phase 41 In 2001 archaeologists studying the remains of nine men from Mehrgarh discovered that the people of this civilization knew proto dentistry In April 2006 it was announced in the scientific journal Nature that the oldest and first early Neolithic evidence for the drilling of human teeth in vivo i e in a living person was found in Mehrgarh According to the authors their discoveries point to a tradition of proto dentistry in the early farming cultures of that region Here we describe eleven drilled molar crowns from nine adults discovered in a Neolithic graveyard in Pakistan that dates from 7 500 to 9 000 years ago These findings provide evidence for a long tradition of a type of proto dentistry in early farming culture 42 Mehrgarh Period II 5500 BCE 4800 BCE and Period III 4800 BCE 3500 BCE Edit The Mehrgarh Period II 5500 BCE 4800 BCE and Merhgarh Period III 4800 BCE 3500 BCE were ceramic Neolithic using pottery and later chalcolithic Period II is at site MR4 and Period III is at MR2 43 Much evidence of manufacturing activity has been found and more advanced techniques were used Glazed faience beads were produced and terracotta figurines became more detailed Figurines of females were decorated with paint and had diverse hairstyles and ornaments Two flexed burials were found in Period II with a red ochre cover on the body The number of burial goods decreased over time becoming limited to ornaments and with more goods left with burials of females The first button seals were produced from terracotta and bone and had geometric designs Technologies included stone and copper drills updraft kilns large pit kilns and copper melting crucibles There is further evidence of long distance trade in Period II important as an indication of this is the discovery of several beads of lapis lazuli once again from Badakshan Mehrgarh Periods II and III are also contemporaneous with an expansion of the settled populations of the borderlands at the western edge of South Asia including the establishment of settlements like Rana Ghundai Sheri Khan Tarakai Sarai Kala Jalilpur and Ghaligai 43 Period III was not much explored but it was found that Togau phase c 4000 3500 BCE was part of this level covering around 100 hectares in the areas MR 2 MR 4 MR 5 and MR 6 encompassing ruins burial and dumping grounds but archaeologist Jean Francois Jarrige concluded that such wide extension was not due to contemporaneous occupation but rather due to the shift and partial superimposition in time of several villages or settlement clusters across a span of several centuries 44 Togau phase Edit At the beginning of Mehrgarh III Togau ceramics appeared at the site Togau ware was first defined by Beatrice de Cardi in 1948 Togau is a large mound in the Chhappar Valley of Sarawan 12 kilometer northwest of Kalat in Baluchistan This type of pottery is found widely in Baluchistan and eastern Afghanistan at sites such as Mundigak Sheri Khan Tarakai and Periano Ghundai According to Possehl it is attested at 84 sites up to date Anjira is a contemporary ancient site near Togau 45 Togau ceramics is decorated with geometric designs and was already made by using a potter s wheel The time in Mehrgarh Period III during the second half of the 4th millennium BCE is characterized by important new developments There s a big increase in the number of settlements in the Quetta Valley the Surab Region the Kachhi Plain and elsewhere in the area Kili Ghul Mohammad II III pottery is similar to Togau Ware 46 Mehrgarh Periods IV V and VI 3500 BCE 3000 BCE Edit Period IV was 3500 to 3250 BCE Period V from 3250 to 3000 BCE and period VI was around 3000 BCE 47 The site containing Periods IV to VII is designated as MR1 43 Mehrgarh Period VII 2600 BCE 2000 BCE Edit Somewhere between 2600 BCE and 2000 BCE the city seems to have been largely abandoned in favor of the larger and fortified town Nausharo five miles away when the Indus Valley civilisation was in its middle stages of development Historian Michael Wood suggests this took place around 2500 BCE 48 Archaeologist Massimo Vidale considers a series of semi columns found in a structure at Mehrgarh dated around 2500 BCE by the French mission there is very similar to semi columns found in Period IV at Shahr i Sokhta 49 min 12 10 Mehrgarh Period VIII Edit The last period is found at the Sibri cemetery about 8 kilometers from Mehrgarh 43 Lifestyle and technology EditEarly Mehrgarh residents lived in mud brick houses stored their grain in granaries fashioned tools with local copper ore and lined their large basket containers with bitumen They cultivated six row barley einkorn and emmer wheat jujubes and dates and herded sheep goats and cattle Residents of the later period 5500 BCE to 2600 BCE put much effort into crafts including flint knapping tanning bead production and metal working 50 Mehrgarh is probably the earliest known center of agriculture in South Asia 51 The oldest known example of the lost wax technique comes from a 6 000 year old wheel shaped copper amulet found at Mehrgarh The amulet was made from unalloyed copper an unusual innovation that was later abandoned 52 Artifacts Edit Seated Mother Goddess 3000 2500 BC Mehrgarh 53 Human figurines Edit The oldest ceramic figurines in South Asia were found at Mehrgarh They occur in all phases of the settlement and were prevalent even before pottery appears The earliest figurines are quite simple and do not show intricate features However they grow in sophistication with time and by 4000 BC begins to show their characteristic hairstyles and typical prominent breasts All the figurines up to this period were female Male figurines appear only from period VII and gradually become more numerous Many of the female figurines are holding babies and were interpreted as depictions of the mother goddess However due to some difficulties in conclusively identifying these figurines with the mother goddess some scholars prefer using the term female figurines with likely cultic significance 54 55 56 Pottery Edit Mehrgarh painted pottery 3000 2500 BC 57 Evidence of pottery begins from Period II In period III the finds become much more abundant as the potter s wheel is introduced and they show more intricate designs and also animal motifs 43 The characteristic female figurines appear beginning in Period IV and the finds show more intricate designs and sophistication Pipal leaf designs are used in decoration from Period VI 58 Some sophisticated firing techniques were used from Periods VI and VII and an area reserved for the pottery industry has been found at mound MR1 However by Period VIII the quality and intricacy of designs seem to have suffered due to mass production and a growing interest in bronze and copper vessels 47 Burials Edit There are two types of burials in the Mehrgarh site There were individual burials where a single individual was enclosed in narrow mud walls and collective burials with thin mud brick walls within which skeletons of six different individuals were discovered The bodies in the collective burials were kept in a flexed position and were laid east to west Child bones were found in large jars or urn burials 4000 3300 BCE 59 Metallurgy Edit Metal finds have dated as early as Period IIB with a few copper items 43 58 See also EditIndus Valley civilisation and the list of Indus Valley civilisation sites List of inventions and discoveries of the Indus Valley civilisation Sanitation of the Indus Valley civilisation Bhirrana Mundigak archaeological site in Kandahar Province Hadda archaeological site in Nangarhar Province Surkh Kotal archaeological site in Baghlan Province Mes Aynak archaeological site in Logar Province Sheri Khan Tarakai archaeological site in Bannu Mohenjo daro archaeological site in Sindh Harappa archaeological site in Punjab Bolan Pass Nausharo Pirak Chanhudaro Quetta List of Stone Age artNotes Edit Excavations at Bhirrana Haryana in India between 2006 and 2009 by archaeologist K N Dikshit provided six artefacts including relatively advanced pottery so called Hakra ware which were dated at a time bracket between 7380 and 6201 BCE 4 5 6 7 These dates compete with Mehrgarh for being the oldest site for cultural remains in the area 8 Yet Dikshit and Mani clarify that this time bracket concerns only charcoal samples which were radio carbon dated at respectively 7570 7180 BCE sample 2481 and 6689 6201 BCE sample 2333 9 10 Dikshit further writes that the earliest phase concerns 14 shallow dwelling pits which could accommodate about 3 4 people 11 According to Dikshit in the lowest level of these pits wheel made Hakra Ware was found which was not well finished 11 together with other wares 12 a b According to Gangal et al 2014 there is strong archeological and geographical evidence that neolithic farming spread from the Near East into north west India 13 17 Gangal et al 2014 13 There are several lines of evidence that support the idea of a connection between the Neolithic in the Near East and the subcontinent The prehistoric site of Mehrgarh in Baluchistan modern Pakistan is the earliest Neolithic site in the northwest of the subcontinent dated as early as 8500 BCE 18 18 Neolithic domesticated crops in Mehrgarh include more than 90 barley and a small amount of wheat There is good evidence for the local domestication of barley and the zebu cattle at Mehrgarh 19 19 20 20 but the wheat varieties are suggested to be of Near Eastern origin as the modern distribution of wild varieties of wheat is limited to Northern Levant and Southern Turkey 21 21 A detailed satellite map study of a few archaeological sites in the Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa regions also suggests similarities in early phases of farming with sites in Western Asia 22 22 Pottery prepared by sequential slab construction circular fire pits filled with burnt pebbles and large granaries are common to both Mehrgarh and many Mesopotamian sites 23 23 The postures of the skeletal remains in graves at Mehrgarh bear strong resemblance to those at Ali Kosh in the Zagros Mountains of southern Iran 19 19 Clay figurines found in Mehrgarh resemble those discovered at Teppe Zagheh on the Qazvin plain south of the Elburz range in Iran the 7th millennium BCE and Jeitun in Turkmenistan the 6th millennium BCE 24 24 Strong arguments have been made for the Near Eastern origin of some domesticated plants and herd animals at Jeitun in Turkmenistan pp 225 227 in 25 25 The Near East is separated from the Indus Valley by the arid plateaus ridges and deserts of Iran and Afghanistan where rainfall agriculture is possible only in the foothills and cul de sac valleys 26 26 Nevertheless this area was not an insurmountable obstacle for the dispersal of the Neolithic The route south of the Caspian sea is a part of the Silk Road some sections of which were in use from at least 3 000 BCE connecting Badakhshan north eastern Afghanistan and south eastern Tajikistan with Western Asia Egypt and India 27 27 Similarly the section from Badakhshan to the Mesopotamian plains the Great Khorasan Road was apparently functioning by 4 000 BCE and numerous prehistoric sites are located along with it whose assemblages are dominated by the Cheshmeh Ali Tehran Plain ceramic technology forms and designs 26 26 Striking similarities in figurines and pottery styles and mud brick shapes between widely separated early Neolithic sites in the Zagros Mountains of north western Iran Jarmo and Sarab the Deh Luran Plain in southwestern Iran Tappeh Ali Kosh and Chogha Sefid Susiana Chogha Bonus and Chogha Mish the Iranian Central Plateau Tappeh Sang e Chakhmaq and Turkmenistan Jeitun suggest a common incipient culture 28 28 The Neolithic dispersal across South Asia plausibly involved migration of the population 29 29 and 25 pp 231 233 25 This possibility is also supported by Y chromosome and mtDNA analyses 30 30 31 31 Genetic research shows a complex pattern of human migrations 17 Kivisild et al 1999 note that a small fraction of the West Eurasian mtDNA lineages found in Indian populations can be ascribed to a relatively recent admixture 34 at ca 9 300 3 000 years before present 35 which coincides with the arrival to India of cereals domesticated in the Fertile Crescent and lends credence to the suggested linguistic connection between the Elamite and Dravidic populations 35 Singh et al 2016 investigated the distribution of J2a M410 and J2b M102 in South Asia which suggested a complex scenario that cannot be explained by a single wave of agricultural expansion from Near East to South Asia 17 but also notes that regardless of the complexity of dispersal NW region appears to be the corridor for entry of these haplogroups into India 17 Gallego Romero 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1084 7 Archived from the original on 9 July 2022 Retrieved 10 September 2011 Sharif M Thapar B K January 1999 Food producing Communities in Pakistan and Northern India History of civilizations of Central Asia pp 254 256 ISBN 9788120814073 Archived from the original on 9 July 2022 Retrieved 7 September 2011 Metropolitan Museum of Art www metmuseum org Archived from the original on 16 March 2022 Retrieved 21 April 2019 a b Upinder Singh 1 September 2008 A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India From the Stone Age to the 12th Century Pearson Education India pp 103 105 ISBN 978 81 317 1120 0 Archived from the original on 28 July 2022 Retrieved 8 September 2011 Dibyopama Astha et al 2015 Human Skeletal Remains from Ancient Burial Sites in India With Special Reference to Harappan Civilization Korean J Phys Anthropol 28 1 1 9 doi 10 11637 kjpa 2015 28 1 1 Sources EditConingham Robin Young Ruth 2015 The Archaeology of South Asia From the Indus to Asoka c 6500 BCE 200 CE Cambridge University Press Gangal Kavita Sarson Graeme R Shukurov Anvar 2014 The Near Eastern Roots of the Neolithic in South Asia PLOS ONE 9 5 e95714 Bibcode 2014PLoSO 995714G doi 10 1371 journal pone 0095714 PMC 4012948 PMID 24806472 Kivisild et al 1999 Deep common ancestry of Indian and western Eurasian mitochondrial DNA lineages Curr Biol 9 22 1331 1334 doi 10 1016 s0960 9822 00 80057 3 PMID 10574762 S2CID 2821966 Singh Sakshi 2016 Dissecting the influence of Neolithic demic diffusion on Indian Y chromosome pool through J2 M172 haplogroup Sci Rep 6 19157 Bibcode 2016NatSR 619157S doi 10 1038 srep19157 PMC 4709632 PMID 26754573Further reading EditMehrgarhJarrige J F 1979 Excavations at Mehrgarh Pakistan In Johanna Engelberta Lohuizen De Leeuw ed South Asian archaeology 1975 papers from the third International Conference of the Association of South Asian Archaeologists in Western Europe held in Paris Brill pp 76 ISBN 978 90 04 05996 2 Retrieved 19 August 2011 Jarrige Jean Franois Mehrgarh Neolithic Archived 20 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Jarrige C J F Jarrige R H Meadow G Quivron eds 1995 6 Mehrgarh Field Reports 1974 85 From Neolithic times to the Indus Civilization Jarrige J F Lechevallier M Les fouilles de Mehrgarh Pakistan problemes chronologiques Excavations at Mehrgarh Pakistan chronological problems French Lechevallier M L Industrie lithique de Mehrgarh Pakistan The Lithic industry of Mehrgarh Pakistan French Niharranjan Ray Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya 1 January 2000 Pre Harappan Neolithic Chalcolithic Settlement at Mehrgarh Baluchistan Pakistan A sourcebook of Indian civilization Orient Blackswan pp 560 ISBN 978 81 250 1871 1 Retrieved 20 August 2011 Santoni Marielle Sabri and the South Cemetery of Mehrgarh Third Millennium Connections between the Northern Kachi Plain Pakistan and Central Asia Lukacs J R Dental Morphology and Odontometrics of Early Agriculturalists from Neolithic Mehrgarh Pakistan Barthelemy De Saizieu B Le Cimetiere neolithique de Mehrgarh Balouchistan pakistanais apport de l analyse factorielle The Neolithic cemetery of Mehrgarh Balochistan Pakistan Contribution of a factor analysis French Indus Valley CivilizationGregory L Possehl 2002 The Indus civilization a contemporary perspective Rowman Altamira ISBN 978 0 7591 0172 2 Retrieved 20 August 2011 Jane McIntosh 2008 The ancient Indus Valley new perspectives ABC CLIO ISBN 978 1 57607 907 2 Retrieved 20 August 2011 Kenoyer Jonathan M Miller Heather M L 1999 Metal Technologies of the Indus Valley Tradition in Pakistan and Western India In Vincent C Pigott ed The archaeometallurgy of the Asian old world University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology pp 123 ISBN 978 0 924171 34 5 Retrieved 23 August 2011 South AsiaBridget Allchin Frank Raymond Allchin 1982 The rise of civilization in India and Pakistan Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0 521 28550 6 Retrieved 20 August 2011 Kenoyer J Mark 2005 Kimberly Heuston ed The Ancient South Asian World Oxford University Press pp 30 35 ISBN 978 0 19 517422 9 Retrieved 4 March 2015 Sinopoli Carla M February 2007 Gender and Archaeology in South and Southwest Asia In Sarah M Nelson ed Worlds of gender the archaeology of women s lives around the globe Rowman Altamira pp 75 ISBN 978 0 7591 1084 7 Retrieved 23 August 2011 Kenoyer Jonathan Mark 2002 Peter N Peregrine Melvin Ember ed Encyclopedia of Prehistory South and Southwest Asia Springer pp 153 ISBN 978 0 306 46262 7 Retrieved 23 August 2011 South Asia paleoanthropologyKenneth A R Kennedy 2000 God apes and fossil men paleoanthropology of South Asia University of Michigan Press ISBN 978 0 472 11013 1 Retrieved 20 August 2011 Michael D Petraglia Bridget Allchin 2007 The evolution and history of human populations in South Asia inter disciplinary studies in archaeology biological anthropology linguistics and genetics Springer ISBN 978 1 4020 5561 4 Retrieved 20 August 2011 Central AsiaJ G Shaffer B K Thapar et al 2005 History of civilizations of Central Asia UNESCO ISBN 978 92 3 102719 2 Retrieved 20 August 2011 Global historySteven Mithen 30 April 2006 After the ice a global human history 20 000 5000 BC Harvard University Press pp 408 ISBN 978 0 674 01999 7 Retrieved 20 August 2011 IndiaAvari Burjor India The Ancient Past A history of the Indian sub continent from c 7000 BC to AD 1200 Routledge Singh Upinder A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India From the Stone Age to the 12th century Dorling Kindersley 2008 ISBN 978 81 317 1120 0 Lallanji Gopal V C Srivastava History of Agriculture in India up to c 1200 AD Hermann Kulke Dietmar Rothermund 2004 A history of India Routledge pp 21 ISBN 978 0 415 32919 4 Retrieved 20 August 2011 Burton Stein 4 March 2015 Ancient Days The Pre Formation of Indian Civilization In David Arnold ed A History of India John Wiley and Sons pp 39 ISBN 978 1 4051 9509 6 Indo AryansJim G Shaffer Diane A Lichtenstein 1995 George Erdosy ed The Indo Aryans of ancient South Asia Language material culture and ethnicity Walter de Gruyter pp 130 ISBN 978 3 11 014447 5 Retrieved 20 August 2011 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mehrgarh Archaeological Site of Mehrgarh UNESCO Mehrgarh Neolithic Archived 20 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine by Jean Francois Jarrige Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mehrgarh amp oldid 1126615913, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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